Chapter 199 Merit of Following the Dragon
Inside the cabin, Xu Jinnian and his fellow disciples played chess in pairs to pass the time, while Sheng An's four female relatives sat in a well-ventilated spot, drinking tea and chatting.
Sheng An was still seasick, but thankfully not as bad as before. She just felt dizzy and listless, like a cabbage that had lost its moisture.
At this moment, Sheng An leaned against the cool bamboo couch, listening to the other three chat about gossip she didn't know.
For example, Mr. Liu, who was over sixty years old, was still young at heart. With a large number of concubines and maids in his backyard, he brought a beautiful sixteen-year-old woman into the house.
For example, the eldest son of the Hu family was licentious and promiscuous, even cuckolding his own father by getting involved with his father's second wife whom he had married three years earlier. His two-year-old brother was actually his son.
For example, Ding Tianci, the next heir of the Ding family, the richest family in China, is afraid of his wife. After getting married, he dared not take a concubine or a maid. A few days ago, he returned to the courtyard drunk and covered in perfume. In no time, he was kicked out with five finger marks on his face.
Sheng An knew nothing about the Liu and Hu families, and would only listen to gossip about them casually. But upon hearing about gossip from an old acquaintance, she immediately perked up and defended Ding Tianci:
“This is not henpecked, but rather a deep love for his wife. He said this himself when he came to Shengyuan for dinner.”
Fang Qingzhou's wife, Liu Xiaoyun, knew that Sheng An and Ding Tianci were on good terms. Upon hearing this, she covered her mouth and chuckled, "I might not believe it if someone else said it, but it's true when my sister-in-law says it."
Ye Yunhua's wife, Liu Yanran, also chimed in with a smile: "Mingyu (Xu Jinnian's courtesy name) is deeply devoted to her younger siblings, and all the ladies and young women in Qingzhou City envy her. It's not surprising that the young master of the Ding family loves his wife so much."
Putting everything else aside, the fact that he had no children after three years of marriage and that Mingyu had never taken a concubine or maidservant already surpassed countless men who prioritized the continuation of their lineage.
Even under Mingyu's influence, her husband became more considerate towards her, often giving her small gifts and patiently comforting her when she was in a bad mood.
After she successfully gave birth to her eldest son last year, her husband took the initiative to dismiss the two maids who served her in his room and personally explained the situation to his mother-in-law, so as not to make things difficult for her in front of her.
The reason she was able to accompany her husband to Jinling for the imperial examination was because he said that she had been trapped by household affairs for the past two years and could not even leave Qingzhou City, so he took this opportunity to take her to Jinling to relax.
Not only her, but Xiaoyun was the same.
Compared to her close friends and sisters before she got married, she and Xiaoyun were much more comfortable in her husband's family home.
Sheng An, unaware of what Liu and Liu were thinking, assumed they were teasing him. He blinked and teased meaningfully, "You two sisters-in-law have rosy complexions and slender figures. You don't look like you've ever given birth. I'm afraid Brother Fang and Brother Ye have been very loving towards you."
As expected, both Liu Xiaoyun and Liu Yanran blushed upon hearing this.
Liu Yanran gently patted her, her tone tinged with shyness: "Qingrou is still here, you'd better watch your mouth."
Tan Qingrou looked around blankly, not understanding why Sister Liu had brought her up.
Seeing her innocent and adorable appearance, Sheng An and the other two couldn't help but chuckle, and all three of them patted her head at the same time: "You'll understand when you get married."
Tan Qingrou: "..."
Can't you answer her questions now?
Hearing the laughter, four men not far away looked over at the same time.
Seeing his wife's bright smile, Fang Qingzhou also smiled, placed a white piece on the chessboard, and said to Xu Jinnian, who was playing against him, "With my sister-in-law here, this trip is much more lively."
Xu Jinnian withdrew his gaze, slowly placed a black piece, and gave the opponent a look that said, "Do you need to tell me?"
Fang Qingzhou chuckled and shook her head, then looked up again.
My wife is introverted and didn't have many friends before she got married. She didn't have any close friends and kept everything to herself. At first, she didn't even open up to her husband.
In the past two years, thanks to the relationship between Xu's younger brother and sister-in-law, my wife has gradually become friends with him and Ye's younger brother and sister-in-law. Her personality has become much more cheerful, and she will take the initiative to confide in him when she encounters troubles.
The couple's relationship has evolved from initial mutual respect to current affection, with few arguments, allowing him to focus on his studies without any worries.
Sheng An and the others didn't hear the man's voice and continued chatting enthusiastically about the latest gossip in Qingzhou City.
Despite not going out often, Tan Qingrou knows a lot of gossip, especially the high-society gossip in Jinling and the capital city thousands of miles away. She can rattle off a lot of details about it.
Liu Xiaoyun and Liu Yanran are native Qingzhou residents and know very little about the situation in Jinling, let alone the capital city, which has nothing to do with them. Therefore, they are very enthusiastic about gossiping and are not afraid of the gossip reaching the ears of the parties involved.
Tan Qingrou's mouth was dry from talking, and she drank several sips of tea before, urged silently by Liu and Liu, she began to recount the royal gossip she had recently learned:
"You should have heard of Princess Pingyuan. She is the most powerful and favored princess since the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty. She keeps a bunch of male lovers in her mansion, and all the censors pretend to be deaf and dumb and pretend not to know."
"I didn't know the reason before and thought they were bribed by Princess Pingyuan. Now I know that any censor who dared to impeach them was either exiled or had their family destroyed."
Tan Qingrou will be accompanying Madam Tan back to the capital for a family reunion. She will marry into an official family in the capital and live there for a long time. Naturally, she needs to understand the complex and intricate relationships in the capital.
Therefore, at Lord Tan's prompting, Madam Tan told her many stories about the prominent families in the capital, among which Princess Pingyuan was mentioned the most.
After all, this person wields immense power and is someone that even several princely mansions dare not offend. Anything involving this person is by no means a trivial matter, so it is natural to explain things clearly and thoroughly.
Tan Qingrou told Sheng An and the other two this because she felt that with her husband's talent and learning, he would eventually pass the imperial examination and become an official, so it was necessary to know more about him.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yanran couldn't help but gasp: "Is it that amazing?"
Tan Qingrou spoke solemnly in a low voice: "Princess Pingyuan was the only legitimate princess of the late emperor. She was pampered and no one dared to offend her since childhood. The current emperor was able to ascend the throne smoothly thanks to the support of Princess Pingyuan and her maternal family."
The Empress Dowager came from a humble background and was not favored when she first entered the palace. She was often suppressed by high-ranking concubines.
She finally gained the emperor's favor and gave birth to the current emperor, but she was framed and both she and her child were banished to the cold palace.
Later, with the help of the late empress who had no children of her own and only one daughter, Princess Pingyuan, the empress dowager regained favor and gradually rose to the rank of concubine.
After the late Empress passed away, the Empress Dowager became the most powerful woman in the harem.
At that time, the crown prince had not yet been established, and the late emperor suddenly fell seriously ill. It was Princess Pingyuan who, together with her maternal family, did her best to promote the current emperor to inherit the throne.
It can be said that without Princess Pingyuan and her daughter, the current emperor would not be able to hold onto his position.
For such meritorious service in supporting the emperor, the current emperor, after ascending the throne, bestowed great honors upon Princess Pingyuan and her maternal clan, until there were no more honors to bestow.
From then on, the Princess Pingyuan's household acted recklessly, yet no one dared to provoke them.
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